Hey, babes! Although it’s still 80 degrees and insanely humid here in NYC, sweater weather is right around the corner. If you’re familiar with weather in the Northeast, then you know that with a snap of a finger 80 degree weather drops real quick. Sadly, summer has come to an end, but fall (and its fashion) has arrived! Romwe offers so many affordable, chic styles for the fall, and I’d thought I’d share some of my favorite picks with you.

Here’s a roundup of my favorite, comfy sweaters you’ll be needing for this sweater weather season (all from their site!):

Clearly, I love black and white with a pop of red 😉 I can picture myself wearing any of these and lounging on my couch, with a hot apple cider in hand, while watching my latest Netflix binge. I hope these sweaters get you in a comfy Fall groove. You can shop any of them here on Romwe!

Hello, babes! Fall has arrived, and I am so excited! In my last post, I created a list of 21 reasons why I’m excited for fall with one of them being fall fashion, of course! I have a ongoing wishlist of so many styles on SheIn, but I’ve narrowed down just a couple of my favorites and thought I’d share with you. Here are some of my favorite picks from the start of the season:

1. Faux Fur Jackets, Coats & Vests

2. Pleather Bottoms

3. Blouses with Ruffles & Bell Sleeves

4. Unique Blazers

During fall and winter, you’ll constantly see me wearing pleather skirts..I think I own about six different colors now! I have been trying to find my perfect pair of pleather pants, and I love these Cigarette Buckle Pants shown above. I am also a fan of pleather shorts (although I only own one pair of these). As for faux fur, I’m obsessed with different colors and patterns on jackets and vests. I love how Shein incorporated faux fur sleeves on the Belted Hem Heathered Jacket above. Ruffles and bell sleeves have been popular summer trends (personally, my favorite trends of summer 2017!), and I’m more than ready to continue to include these looks into my fall wardrobe. In the past I haven’t been one to wear blazers, but I love the sophisticated look, and I’m hoping to wear more this season. I love a trendy blazer with unique details like the two pictured above. Although they are both white and Labor Day has passed, I think you can get away with these looks for just a little bit longer 🙂

The other day, a friend of mine wronged me. She doesn’t know that I know she wronged me, but I do. I’m not going to go into detail here, but it wasn’t something major, just the equivalent of something very high school (i.e. not inviting me to a party because she didn’t want me there for whatever reason).

From high school to my junior year in college, I was bullied. I wasn’t bullied by groups of people, nor was there a lot of concrete evidence that I was bullied. I was consistently and sort-of passively bullied by my closest friends.

When I click with someone, I tend to become instantaneous friends with them. During my younger years, however, my intuition was not as strong, and I constantly found myself becoming friends with people who were not good for me.

During high school, I quickly became friends with a girl, and we became inseparable. Everyone knew we were very close and a package deal. About a year into our friendship, however, she began to low-key bully me. It started by putting me down by saying small comments here and there. The subtle digs continued until they developed into so much more.

I remember her once telling me “Marisa, you’re never going to be a model.” To that statement, I now laugh (if she only knew where I was now!), but at the time I was devastated. How could my best friend who is supposed to love, care, and support me say that about me? Answer is that she wasn’t a true friend.

There were many red flags that I should have ended my friendship with her, but we were at a small, all-girls school, where the level of drama tends to be high generally speaking. I wasn’t looking to cause or add to any drama, and I sure as hell wasn’t looking for our friends to start choosing sides, something that would have been inevitable considering we had a small circle of mutual friends. This girl was also known for having a strong and mean personality, and to be honest, my young, timid self was afraid to even have a simple conversation with her about how she was making me feel. So, I sucked it up and tried to brush it all under the rug.

Eventually, we did end our friendship halfway during my senior year of high school. I think the final straw was over a guy I liked that she was poaching on—I can’t remember to be honest, it feels like a lifetime ago. Although I was devastated for losing my best friend and our mutual friends ended up choosing sides for the most part, I remember being very proud of myself for finally standing up for myself.

Unfortunately, the lesson repeats until it’s learned. After this falling out with this friend, the same thing happened to me again in high school and then twice in college. It wasn’t until my junior year of college that I finally broke the cycle.

I continued to attract one close best friend who low-key emotionally abused me. It happened to me 5x in a row. Each time, it was hard to realize it was happening because girls can be manipulative, crafty, and for sure catty.

Me being me, I also always tried to focus on the good in people and refused to believe anyone, let alone my best friend at the time, could do this to me. I still always look for the good in people, but I sure as hell don’t overlook the bad anymore. I don’t hold grudges—I think it’s a waste of time and energy, but I certainly don’t forget how people treat me and make me feel.

I started to attract good and genuine friends into my life because I finally stopped allowing people to treat me poorly. I knew I deserved to be treated better, and I wanted to be treated better. I knew I deserved to have genuinely good people in my life, and once I consistently started thinking this and changed my mindset, I began attracting the people that I wanted.

So, back to my friend that I started this article about: Although we are adults, and petty things like this blatantly shouldn’t be happening, at the end of the day, I can’t be mad at her for not being confident enough with herself.

People tend to project or take out their insecurities on others, and this is exactly what is happening here. I was livid once I found out what she did to me because 1. situations like these clearly hit close to home because of my past and 2. We are all adults here, grow up, but once I realized this is about her, not me, I accepted what had happened and chose to let it go.

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This chic and very fashionable top is from Romwe! I have written about this before, but I must mention again that I am obsessed with the bell sleeve phenomenon for this season! What makes this top also stand out is the intricate sleeve design. I love that this top incorporates eye-catching lace-up tie sleeves. It makes for a stylish, edgy, yet sophisticated look. It’s the perfect transition top to take you from day to night! I love it paired with white denim jeans or a cute skirt or shorts. You can certainly wear this to a barbeque or when you’re out and about shopping during the day, and you can dress it up for parties or get-togethers later in the evening!

Romwe is the place to shop for fun, stylish and edgy clothing! If you’re looking for something very fashionable or the latest styles and trends, Romwe has it all! All of their clothes are so chic and on trend. Not to mention, they are outrageously affordable!

Orange Scarf, founded by Diane Sabato, is a fabulous brand that sells women’s scarves, ponchos, and shawls. Orange Scarf is committed to giving back, and sales support organizations and causes that empower women. No matter how big or small, one can always contribute to changing the world around us. Whenever Diane or one of her four sisters would ask their father “how do I look?” he would reply “all that outfit needs is a nice orange scarf,” hence the creative name of this line.

Neeshe. a chic, NYC-based brand, is the evolution of the legging. Why can’t leggings be the statement piece in one’s outfit? Well with leggings from Neeshe, they can be! Neeshe leggings are the perfect choice for today’s dynamic, fashionable woman on-the-go.

“You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe deserve your love and affection.”-Buddha

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This jaw-dropping, stencil-painted mural created by Logan Hicks (@loganhicksny) is Bowery & Houston’s newest street art addition. Painted in late August, this piece titled “Story of My Life” depicts a large crowd walking down Spring & Greene St. all in the same direction. Although unfamiliar to us, this crowd includes people important to the artist’s life, including members of his family, such as his son who is actually depicted three times, as well as random passerbys who have been subjects in Hicks’ previous works.

The Bowery Houston mural, found in the Lower East Side, is a gem in the world of street art, as it encourages and promotes the acceptance of graffiti art in the streets of NYC. Although the works change every three months to a year, the history of the wall can be traced back over 30 years. More recently, the concept of the wall and the art it illustrates has been preserved with the help of several different groups.

“It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves” -William Shakespeare

“Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none” -William Shakespeare

“We know what we are, but know not what we may be” -William Shakespeare

“God has given you one face, and you make yourself another” -William Shakespeare

“To do a great right do a little wrong” -William Shakespeare

Bradley Theodore (@bradleytheodore) is hands down my favorite graffiti artist. He is best known for portraying fashion icons, including Karl Lagerfeld and Anna Wintour, in a colorful, skeletal way. His is most recent work consists historical icons, such as Queen Elizabeth, and infamous stars, including Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe. His work can be found in galleries and on the street throughout the world, specifically in major cities like New York City, Los Angeles, London, and Hong Kong. In New York, most of his street art is found in Soho and the LES. The above are found on Rivington and Ludlow in the LES.

This past week marked my 2 year anniversary in New York! Most days the score is New York: 1, Marisa: 0, but I must thank you, New York City, for making me the person I am today. Can’t wait to see what year 3 holds!

“One isn’t necessarily born with courage, but one is born with potential. Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can’t be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest” -Maya Angelou

“We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated” -Maya Angelou

“You may not control all the events that happen to you, but you can decide not to be reduced by them” -Maya Angelou

This colorful mural, featuring musician and singer-songwriter Joey Ramone, can be found on the side of Saxon + Parole on Bleecker Street. In 2015, this piece was commissioned by the Little Italy Street Art Project (L.I.S.A., @thelisaprjectnyc) and painted by Dublin’s Solus and the Bronx’s John ‘CRASH’ Matos (#SolusxCrash). The L.I.S.A. Project is “a 501(c)3 charity arts program founded in historic Little Italy bringing events & diverse artists to Downtown, creating NYC only mural district” (-L.I.S.A.). The mural was strategically painted across the street from CBGB, the location where the band the Ramones originally started.